A week after his departure from the British Parliament, Boris Johnson became, Friday, June 16, columnist for the conservative tabloid Daily Mail. The daily specializing in rowdy headlines against environmentalists, the administration or Prince Harry, ardently supported the former Prime Minister throughout the scandal of the parties organized in Downing Street during the confinements linked to the Covid-19 pandemic .
A day after the publication of a parliamentary report finding him guilty of lying to parliament and accusing him of attacks on democracy, the newspaper claimed in a front page on Friday that it had recruited a mysterious “scholarly new columnist” whose remarks will be expected “in Westminster and around the world”. The Daily Mail confirmed the obvious during the day: it is Boris Johnson, who will publish an editorial every Saturday in its columns, starting this week.
In a video posted on the newspaper’s website, the former prime minister promises, “I will say exactly what I think. He also says he plans to talk about politics “as little as possible.”
In fact, the first text of the ex-leader who has already mentioned his problems of being overweight is devoted to his unsuccessful trial of an appetite suppressant drug when he was in power, thanks to which he hoped to “stop his descents to the fridge at 11:30 p.m. for cheddar and chorizo.
Early career in the press
This activity will bring him significant media visibility, he who entered into open war against his successor Rishi Sunak and did not rule out a return. It will also represent a comfortable source of income for Boris Johnson, who turns 59 on Monday, is about to have an eighth child and has just bought a mansion near Oxford. Politico claims he will earn several hundred thousand euros a year. These sums will be added to the millions that his speeches in conferences have brought in since his departure from Downing Street.
But his hiring has already been scrutinized by the commission responsible for overseeing the appointments of elected officials in the private sector in order to avoid conflicts of interest. The latter felt that it had not been notified in time to issue an opinion. “A request received thirty minutes before an appointment is announced represents a clear violation of the rules,” a spokeswoman said. A spokesperson for Boris Johnson assured that he was “in contact” with the commission – which cannot impose a sanction – and that “normal procedures” were being followed.
Before devoting himself to politics as mayor of London and in several governments, Boris Johnson had started as a trainee journalist at the Times thanks to family connections. He was quickly fired for a made-up quote. In 1989 he became Brussels correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, where he criticized the European institutions, before becoming a political columnist in London for this conservative daily and The Spectator magazine.
